MA MA - Joan Risch, 30, Lincoln, 24 Oct 1961

[leilarose68]

This is maybe a weird thing to bring up but we know that Joan had a very troubled childhood... she was supposedly sexually abused and her parents died in a fire. I've heard that when people are abused and they later have a child (of their gender), when their kid gets to be the age they were when they were abused they can kind of lose their mind a bit. I wonder if she had somewhat of a mental breakdown... her childhood trauma catching up with her.

 

[leilarose68]

if she staged this, where did she get the blood?

I guess that's where the possible self-injury comes in. Maybe she slashed her leg, put it in a cup or something and then smeared it around accordingly.

 

[liz b.]

What is super curious to me is how that pool of blood ended up right at the corner of the kitchen... if it were a botched abortion or an accident how would it have ended up in the corner that cleanly? It almost looks like she would have had to have dumped blood there on purpose

IF this was an at home abortion, Joan could have backed into the corner as she bled, thus the pooling of blood in the corner. jmo

 

[liz b.]

This is maybe a weird thing to bring up but we know that Joan had a very troubled childhood... she was supposedly sexually abused and her parents died in a fire. I've heard that when people are abused and they later have a child (of their gender), when their kid gets to be the age they were when they were abused they can kind of lose their mind a bit. I wonder if she had somewhat of a mental breakdown... her childhood trauma catching up with her.

I read that Joan's parents died in a fire which reporters called "strange". that is often a journalist's way of saying that possibly the fire was set. She was 9 at that time. She went to live with her uncle and aunt. As far as I know she never lived in foster care. I read that she was sexually abused after the death of her parents. Who knows how this impacted her, or how it shaped her worldview ? jmo

 

[dogperson]

It would be interesting to know what was suspicious about the fire that killed her parents. Does that mean it was deliberately set, like arson? I wonder how Joan escaped the fire. Maybe the parents were overcome by smoke inhalation but Joan was able to get out before the worst of it reached her? Or maybe she wasn't even home when it happened?

If someone intentionally killed her parents, could that person/persons have come back and done something to Joan?

 

[liz b.]

It would be interesting to know what was suspicious about the fire that killed her parents. Does that mean it was deliberately set, like arson? I wonder how Joan escaped the fire. Maybe the parents were overcome by smoke inhalation but Joan was able to get out before the worst of it reached her? Or maybe she wasn't even home when it happened?

If someone intentionally killed her parents, could that person/persons have come back and done something to Joan?

I think I read somewhere that Joan was not in the house when it burned. For the press to label a fire as "strange" could mean it was arson. IDK...Joan was 9 when this happened.

 

[Curious-Cat]

I don't post much, but every so often I come back to read any new postings on this case. I have been fascinated with it ever since I discovered it a few years ago. I think there are several things connected in this case: bloody prints that belonged to someone else in the house, car seen in the driveway that afternoon that witnesses were sure about before Joan went missing, that same car having been at the Risch home days earlier, Joan's husband out of town, woman fitting Joan's description seen walking down road with blood on her legs. I didn't initially think she had an abortion, but the signs do seem to point in that direction to some degree. But like others, I can't believe she would have an abortion when her daughter could walk into the house and her son could begin crying from his crib.

Joan went to the dentist that morning and according to one report I read needed additional dental work. So if she decided to disappear willingly she would have needed to see a dentist in the near future. Why not wait until all dental work was done so that wouldn't be a burden when you're trying to disappear.

I never thought she disappeared willingly because I can't imagine a mother leaving her two young children, not even kissing them goodbye, walking away to never see them again. However, it does happen. I found it interesting that the article states that the DA at the time said it was more likely she was alive than not. What an interesting (or irresponsible) thing to say unless there is some strong evidence not released to the public. Maybe they decided there were too many blood smears to be real? After thinking about the 25 books or so that Joan read about murders and disappearances, I wonder if she became obsessed and got caught up in the fantasy of disappearing and starting a new life. She had a traumatic childhood, having lost her parents in a fire and supposedly being raped. Maybe she read books to escape and it got out of control. There may have been some mental illness that hadn't really surfaced at the time. Perhaps the person who visited that day and had visited days earlier helped her escape. Having been in the publishing business, she probably knew a lot of people that loved books like her. Could she have found a book club and met someone who shared her hobby. Maybe she had planned to return shortly. Having young children is a tough job. Maybe she wanted to leave for a while and something went wrong or she got with the wrong crowd.

As for the blood, I keep reading that it wasn't much blood even though to us it looks like a lot. Maybe because it's dark in the pictures. Could the blood have been lightly splattered and yet it looks like a lot.

The other thing that I find a little strange is that Martin never remarried. You'd think after a while he would want to move on and find a mother figure for his young children. Unless he just didn't want to be married. I wonder if he had girlfriends. I also find it peculiar that he got to where he didn't want to discuss it with the media, unless he felt she left him and he was embarrassed, or perhaps he just got tired of discussing it over the years..

If it was an attack, I think it was either an intruder or the person whose car was in the driveway, something went wrong, maybe she fell to the floor, the perp thought she was dead or just freaked and ran, then decided to ride back by her house (perps like to revisit the crime scene) and saw her walking down the road, put her in his/her car and did away with her.

 

[liz b.]

I don't post much, but every so often I come back to read any new postings on this case. I have been fascinated with it ever since I discovered it a few years ago. I think there are several things connected in this case: bloody prints that belonged to someone else in the house, car seen in the driveway that afternoon that witnesses were sure about before Joan went missing, that same car having been at the Risch home days earlier, Joan's husband out of town, woman fitting Joan's description seen walking down road with blood on her legs. I didn't initially think she had an abortion, but the signs do seem to point in that direction to some degree. But like others, I can't believe she would have an abortion when her daughter could walk into the house and her son could begin crying from his crib.

Joan went to the dentist that morning and according to one report I read needed additional dental work. So if she decided to disappear willingly she would have needed to see a dentist in the near future. Why not wait until all dental work was done so that wouldn't be a burden when you're trying to disappear.

I never thought she disappeared willingly because I can't imagine a mother leaving her two young children, not even kissing them goodbye, walking away to never see them again. However, it does happen. I found it interesting that the article states that the DA at the time said it was more likely she was alive than not. What an interesting (or irresponsible) thing to say unless there is some strong evidence not released to the public. Maybe they decided there were too many blood smears to be real? After thinking about the 25 books or so that Joan read about murders and disappearances, I wonder if she became obsessed and got caught up in the fantasy of disappearing and starting a new life. She had a traumatic childhood, having lost her parents in a fire and supposedly being raped. Maybe she read books to escape and it got out of control. There may have been some mental illness that hadn't really surfaced at the time. Perhaps the person who visited that day and had visited days earlier helped her escape. Having been in the publishing business, she probably knew a lot of people that loved books like her. Could she have found a book club and met someone who shared her hobby. Maybe she had planned to return shortly. Having young children is a tough job. Maybe she wanted to leave for a while and something went wrong or she got with the wrong crowd.

As for the blood, I keep reading that it wasn't much blood even though to us it looks like a lot. Maybe because it's dark in the pictures. Could the blood have been lightly splattered and yet it looks like a lot.

The other thing that I find a little strange is that Martin never remarried. You'd think after a while he would want to move on and find a mother figure for his young children. Unless he just didn't want to be married. I wonder if he had girlfriends. I also find it peculiar that he got to where he didn't want to discuss it with the media, unless he felt she left him and he was embarrassed, or perhaps he just got tired of discussing it over the years..

If it was an attack, I think it was either an intruder or the person whose car was in the driveway, something went wrong, maybe she fell to the floor, the perp thought she was dead or just freaked and ran, then decided to ride back by her house (perps like to revisit the crime scene) and saw her walking down the road, put her in his/her car and did away with her.

Martin had a funeral mass when he died. So I think he was Catholic, and probably Joan too. He always believed Joan was alive, and I could not find anything to say that he ever had her declared dead. In that case, Martin could not remarry, because his religion would not have permitted it, I think.

I think both Martin and LE had some undisclosed information that told them Joan was still alive. Puzzling case...

 

[Skigirl]

IMO, it seems odd that an elementary school in late 1930s would have fingerprinted students.


"... investigators found at a grammar school in New Rochelle, NY, a set of Mrs Risch's fingerprints taken when she was a schoolgirl."

http://fultonhistory.com/newspaper ...Y Herald Statesman 1962 Grayscale - 2459.pdf

I think there was a great fear of kidnapping after the Lindburgh baby case. And there was a rising interest in what detective-work could accomplish. Plus, fingerprint comparision was first being widely recognized as a useful tool.

For example: http://napavalleyregister.com/lifes...cle_0cfa1221-6261-5878-9e58-073e94c91c85.html

"According to a March 1939 Journal article, the students of Napa High School were provided the opportunity to protect themselves via the fingerprinting campaign sponsored by the Napa 20-30 Club. This campaign and especially the collecting of the fingerprints was supervised by Peter C. Yenni, a local fingerprint expert.

The Journal also mentioned this annual drive was part of a national effort initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice. It was also in response to the latest — 1939 — FBI statistics, which showed 225,000 people were missing in America. Plus, there had been a marked increase in kidnapping in America during the 1920s and 1930s."

Interest in universal fingerprinting in 20s and 30s: http://jimfisher.edinboro.edu/forensics/univ1.html

"Americans have had an eight-year fascination, love affair is you will, with fingerprints. During the 1920's and 30's, law enforcement leaders like Police Chief August Vollmer of Berkeley, California and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover believed that the widespread use of fingerprinting and the other crime-fighting sciences of firearms identification, questioned documents, and forensics chemistry, would someday bring America's massive crime problem to its knees...Most citizens never get arrested, therefore the fingerprints of a vast majority of the population are not taken and filed away for further use. However, by fingerprinting everyone – housewives, babies, factory workers, and school children – America's fingerprint collection would be complete. It is this idea that appeals to advocates of universal fingerprinting...The Newark, New Jersey Junior Chamber of Commerce, in 1941, sponsored a “Civil Identification Week” in which members of the club set up booths around the city where police fingerprint men registered willing citizens. Two years later, in a letter to V.A. Leonard, a former Berkley police officer who had become a writer and criminal justice professor, Vollmer reported that Maine had passed a law requiring all school children to be fingerprinted. "

 

[jgfitzge]

Martin had a funeral mass when he died. So I think he was Catholic, and probably Joan too. He always believed Joan was alive, and I could not find anything to say that he ever had her declared dead. In that case, Martin could not remarry, because his religion would not have permitted it, I think.

I think both Martin and LE had some undisclosed information that told them Joan was still alive. Puzzling case...

Hello,being from Massachusetts this case has haunted me for a while. I read what is available, think about it with my street smarts and life experience. I tend to categorize data into buckets and/or categories. This case is more difficult due to the lack of information, especially in the years since and in the time they spent in Connecticut before moving to MA. So, with that said, I will pose a few items -

The sighting of the blue/gray car in the days before Joan's disappearance. There were several eye witnesses who saw this vehicle. There were also several eyewitnesses to the woman (possibly Joan) walking along the highway. Yet, LE seemed dismissive of the former sightings but seemed 100% on board with the latter eyewitness sightings?

Like you, I believe Martin Risch knew a lot more than what he may have told LE. I get the feeling if you asked LE, they would tell you he was cooperative but....only to a point. I would love to know if or how often he followed up with LE. I do not think he had anything to do with her death or disappearance but, to rationalize and cope he seems to have believed she was still alive

I never believed and still do not believe the "Girl Gone" theory. What was she going to move to Arizona and wash dishes?

I never believed she got buried in the construction on 128, unless it was done on purpose. Her disappearance was all over the news and searches being done in the days that followed. I cannot see a worker with a back hoe or dump truck not noticing a body in one of the construction ditches, especially during daylight hours.

The mystery phone calls in to the Risch's home in the days after her disappearance are indeed a mystery. Someone earlier posted that they thought it was Joan's college friend? I don't believe that is true. Also, her college friend did not live in the same town. She lived in Bedford a nearby town.

Back in 1961 were LE able to access phone luds?

I read somewhere else that a guy from either Medford or NH spent about $90,000 re-investigating the Joan Risch case. Does anyone know if he shared anything? Is he alive?

 

[Skigirl]

Hello,being from Massachusetts this case has haunted me for a while. I read what is available, think about it with my street smarts and life experience. I tend to categorize data into buckets and/or categories. This case is more difficult due to the lack of information, especially in the years since and in the time they spent in Connecticut before moving to MA. So, with that said, I will pose a few items -

The sighting of the blue/gray car in the days before Joan's disappearance. There were several eye witnesses who saw this vehicle. There were also several eyewitnesses to the woman (possibly Joan) walking along the highway. Yet, LE seemed dismissive of the former sightings but seemed 100% on board with the latter eyewitness sightings?

Like you, I believe Martin Risch knew a lot more than what he may have told LE. I get the feeling if you asked LE, they would tell you he was cooperative but....only to a point. I would love to know if or how often he followed up with LE. I do not think he had anything to do with her death or disappearance but, to rationalize and cope he seems to have believed she was still alive

I never believed and still do not believe the "Girl Gone" theory. What was she going to move to Arizona and wash dishes?

I never believed she got buried in the construction on 128, unless it was done on purpose. Her disappearance was all over the news and searches being done in the days that followed. I cannot see a worker with a back hoe or dump truck not noticing a body in one of the construction ditches, especially during daylight hours.

The mystery phone calls in to the Risch's home in the days after her disappearance are indeed a mystery. Someone earlier posted that they thought it was Joan's college friend? I don't believe that is true. Also, her college friend did not live in the same town. She lived in Bedford a nearby town.

Back in 1961 were LE able to access phone luds?

I read somewhere else that a guy from either Medford or NH spent about $90,000 re-investigating the Joan Risch case. Does anyone know if he shared anything? Is he alive?

I believe the guy in NH who spent money investigating is the source of the PDF that is liked to upthred. It has all kinds of information that was apparently gathered through open records requests -- handwritten police notes, FBI bulletins and the like. I am pretty sure I know that because I found his website at one point, but gee, it was so long ago, I'm not sure I could come up with the link again. He spent a lot of time garnering support for a theory having to do with the formation of a park and the landowners who were to sell their land in order to make the park possible. The Risch's house was in that area, and in fact, the notes revealed that someone who was evaluating the land for the park had visited Mrs. Risch.

Personally, I also do not believe she walked out of her life. I think the police notes and Risch's statement given the night/into next early morning after she disappeared, speaking of her in the past tense, was very interesting. I think he may have put out a hit on her for some reason. It's awfully convenient that he was on a one-day business trip when it happened. He would be far from the first husband to do such a thing. Maybe he thought (or knew) that she had money from her parents, or the family that raised her? I don't know what his motives may have been. If that were his plan, maybe he asked her to pick up books for him at the library to start setting up the theory that she had walked away on her own. Maybe he hadn't counted on there being blood in the kitchen. Maybe it was botched.

 

[jgfitzge]

I'm new to this thread and am fascinated by this very sad story. Here are my comments, FWTW.

--If Joan did have an abortion at home, I would think there would be evidence on one of the beds, yes?

--If the police opined that the car in Joan's driveway that afternoon was an unmarked patrol car, was there a police report from that unmarked patrol car? If not, how do the police know it was an unmarked patrol car?? Huh?

--The half hour the 4-year old spent in her house that afternoon between 4 and 4:30 (approx.) must have been traumatic, to say the least. Thinking of Joan's daughter searching the home for her mother, coming across the "red paint" in the kitchen, hearing her little brother crying upstairs, and then having to wait until her neighbor arrived back home--must have been agonizing. I wonder if she thought she couldn't try to get help from any other neighbors and that's why she waited for the return of her neighbor across the street.

--The clothes hanger on Joan's car could have been the only weapon for self defense Joan could lay her hands on during the attack. Why it was left on top of her car is a real mystery.

--I'm just guessing here--but I think it must have required quite a bit of strength to pull a wall phone right off the wall mount and rip away the connecting wires. Perhaps this is evidence of a male intruder?

--If she had indeed had a botched abortion, I'm trying to think of a reasonable scenario of how blood from the lower part of her body could have left blood droplets on top of the trunk of her car. Blood smears, maybe. But blood droplets? I think the blood droplets on the top of the trunk of her car point to a source of the bleeding probably from her head. ?

--Were the Risch's phone records examined by the police for leads?

--The blood droplets in the upstairs bedrooms are as inexplicable as the "sightings" of the woman on the highway/road--if indeed it was Joan. What in the world was she doing in her upstairs bedrooms while she was dripping blood? The rooms upstairs weren't in disarray so it's less likely she was trying to evade her intruder during the attack. So does that mean she went upstairs, bleeding, after the intruder left? Was she looking out the windows to determine if the intruder and his car were gone, before leaving the house? I don't recall hearing about any missing suitcases or clothing, so she wasn't upstairs packing a bag. It's simply inexplicable.

Thanks for listening!

You bring up some pretty astute points. Yes, this case is a baffler, almost as if someone invented the most frustrating "who-dunnit" game. As best I can, let me try to add my points or offer an opinion on your questions.

No evidence of abortion on beds - personally, I don't think she had a "classic" abortion performed by someone in the house. I am no expert on the female/clinical side of the street but I think she either self-aborted or had some type of miscarriage.

The blue/gray and/or unmarked police car in the driveway is one of my key questions. LE seemed to be dismissive of eye-witness sightings on this vehicle and there may be a reason for this. So, I have never read anywhere where police acknowledged this unmarked police car. So, no official report on that end. Me personally, I have a working theory about this car, I will share in another post.

Lillian walking about the house for that half hour, technically the timeline was 3:45 to 4:15 when Mrs Barker dropped her off and went shopping in the next town and returned. This is one of those scenarios where we initially apply adult thinking into a 4 year old's brain...she was probably just wandering and wondering where "mommy" was and not thinking what we adults would be acting if this was us.... I think you are right in that Mrs. Barker may have had the only child she interacted with on a regular basis and remember they have only been there since April, she may not have known (at least comfortably for a 4 year old) the other neighbors. That being said, one key question I would have asked Mrs. Barker is "when you brought Lillian back to her house would you normally alert Mrs. Risch to Lillian's return?

I may be wrong but it looked like the "phone" portian along with the chord, not the wall unit was pulled from the wall. Pulling that would not require a lot.

The blood droplets on the trunk of the car I have no answer for...maybe as you run by or a fast swing of your leg could have sprayed it?

Phone records, to me would be so key, especially as to the mystery calls after her disappearance. I ask in a later post on whether LE were able to obtain phone luds in 1961

Hope this helps!

 

[Hap]

I grew up in MA and never heard about this. How sad and fascinating. Wonder what her kids think happened to her?

 

[Alleykins]

Back in 1961 were LE able to access phone luds?

Snipped & RBBM for focus -
Yes. It would have taken a subpoena, but yes.

 

[Hap]

I just finished reading through the pdf. Wow. Great find, and some very detailed info and photos there. I'm confused though. What is the significance of the property where the writer theorizes that she is buried? Is he suggesting that the neighbor's family was involved?

 

[Skigirl]

I just finished reading through the pdf. Wow. Great find, and some very detailed info and photos there. I'm confused though. What is the significance of the property where the writer theorizes that she is buried? Is he suggesting that the neighbor's family was involved?

Does the writer think she's buried there? I think I missed that. I think the writer was trying to establish that she was murdered, maybe by someone related to the woman across the street, for some financial reason having to do with the housing development that is depicted in a diagram in the packet of information. But you aren't the first person to puzzle over whatever *something* he was driving at. It's a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, as good old Winston Churchill would say.

 

[jgfitzge]

Does the writer think she's buried there? I think I missed that. I think the writer was trying to establish that she was murdered, maybe by someone related to the woman across the street, for some financial reason having to do with the housing development that is depicted in a diagram in the packet of information. But you aren't the first person to puzzle over whatever *something* he was driving at. It's a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, as good old Winston Churchill would say.

I am not 100% sure either. It seems like the person who uploaded the PDF pages left off the rest of the pages. I see two points, 1. He seems to be making a connection with land in Lexington (next town over) owned by the Barbara Barker (the Risch's neighbor) husband's family and it possibly being where Joan is buried. This person believes Joan was killed or picked up on 128 in a bad state, killed transported to this undeveloped tract owned by Mr. Barkers's family and buried there. The Risch's did not own property in this development. So, I believe the introduction of this Springdale Estates tract of land owned by the Barkers is his guess of where Joan is possibly buried, NOT about disputed land. Now, 2. Concerns the pages about the federal government's program to expand nearby Minuteman Park. This expansion would definitely impact the Risch's. thus that is why the police interviewed that appraiser who was making the rounds and meeting with neighbors about selling their homes, including Joan Risch. I believe some posters and others have said the Barker's had some type of interest in the land on or around the Risch's property. Thus, that was a motive for Mr. Barker. I don't buy this theory at all. First, I have yet to see evidence the Barker's gained from the sale of the Risch's home. This was a slow expansion by the park, really nothing to do with the Barker's except as it concerns their own home and property. Martin Risch eventually sold and moved the physical house to another section of Lincoln in 1975, 14 years later! So, if it was a land dispute between neighbors, how did Joan's death benefit the neighbor?

 

[jgfitzge]

As an addendum, I also think the author and/or source of the PDF may have left off additional pages dealing with the neighbor's property and/or pages where he expresses his opinion for legal/liability reasons.

 

[jgfitzge]

Hi, thanks for the link to this blog - I copied/pasted this section that I find interesting.

Her husband was questioned by police, but nothing was found to connect him to his wife’s disappearance, and he was quickly eliminated from suspicion. However, this left police with no possible suspects at all, and they began to publicly suggest she had left voluntarily, possibly "for medical treatment." They pointed to the lack of evidence there had been an intruder, and declared that "certain key persons" in the case were not telling authorities all they knew.

 

[jgfitzge]

There is a blog post that discussed this case and theories into Risch's disappearance; the comments are also interesting.

Here's the link:

http://strangeco.blogspot.ca/2014/10/joan-risch-runaway-wife-or-murder-victim.html

Hi, thanks for the link to this blog - I copied/pasted this section that I find interesting. I am not surprised, I wonder if one of those people is Martin Risch?

Her husband was questioned by police, but nothing was found to connect him to his wife’s disappearance, and he was quickly eliminated from suspicion. However, this left police with no possible suspects at all, and they began to publicly suggest she had left voluntarily, possibly "for medical treatment." They pointed to the lack of evidence there had been an intruder, and declared that "certain key persons" in the case were not telling authorities all they knew.